By JAMES KITFIELD
When the call goes out in Washington to assemble the "wise men," often in times of crisis, Lee Hamilton is invariably on everyone's short list. A co-chair of both the 9/11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group, Hamilton is on presidential Boards advising the CIA, FBI, Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security. Hamilton previously served in Congress for 34 years, including as chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee. Currently director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, Hamilton recently spoke with National Journal about how Barack Obama could begin to build goodwill in foreign affairs.
NJ: What steps do you think a President Obama could take coming out of the gates that would be welcomed on the world stage?
Hamilton: First of all, I think the tone that the next president adopts will be almost as important as policy. A President Obama will want to show that he's prepared to reach out to others and engage, and that he is in charge and confident but not arrogant. He should make clear a desire to work with international organizations and cooperate with other nations in achieving our common goals. Through the personnel appointments he makes, President Obama should also signal that he is going to run a competent administration. All of that may seem obvious, but I think it's terribly important that the next president adopts that kind of confident, cooperative tone from the moment he steps into the Oval Office.
NJ: What initiatives would you recommend he adopt early to build positive momentum?
Hamilton: There are a number of candidates, some of which more difficult than others. An easy one would be to adopt the recommendation of the War Powers Commission in terms of consultation with Congress. I served on that Commission, which was led by [former Secretary of State] Warren Christopher and [former Secretary of State] James Baker. That's a simple procedural proposal that I think would gain broad support with Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Obama has already said that he will prohibit torture and close Guantanamo Bay, and I presume he will take those steps early. That will convey a very positive impression both at home and abroad. I also think his promise to reset badly strained military forces is also broadly agreed upon.
NJ: Which initiatives do you put in the more difficult category?
Hamilton: On the more difficult side of the ledger I would put keeping the talks with North Korea going, restructuring our approach to Russia and Europe, and adopting a more positive approach to the Islamic world.
And of course his highest priority in a substantive sense will be getting the economy moving in the right direction again. In that sense choosing a new economic team that has the confidence of the financial community is critically important. If a President Obama doesn't get his economic policy right, he'll never have a chance to seize the initiative on the national security agenda.
NJ: Do you believe that Obama should convene an early summit with key allies to signal a turning of the page in U.S. foreign policy?
Hamilton: Such a summit might be helpful, but I'm not sure it will be necessary. There are already a number of summits and events that Obama will have to pay close attention to. There's the upcoming economic summit in Washington even before he assumes office, and as I said, his problem-solving approach to the economic crisis will be critically important. There's a NATO summit in the spring, and that will force his hand on a number of trans-Atlantic issues pretty early on, including NATO enlargement, relations with Russia and the Afghan war. Next year will also see a big climate change conference in Denmark. So there are already a number of dates on the 2009 calendar that are gong to drive the policy agenda.
NJ: Do you think an Obama administration could gain positive momentum, and signal a break with the Bush administration, by announcing a major arms control initiative?
Hamilton: I do think arms control offers an opportunity to gain early traction in foreign affairs. There's a feeling around the world that the nuclear non-proliferation regime has eroded because of the Bush administration's lack of attention to arms control. A lot of countries are now moving towards developing their own nuclear fuel cycles. So a renewed interest in arms control and nonproliferation by an Obama administration would certainly be appropriate. As a candidate Obama indicated this was one of his top priorities. In terms of setting a helpful tone, such an initiative would let the American people and foreign publics and leaders know that the United States is reaching out again cooperatively on matters of importance to them.
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